Robotics Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Welcome to Advanced Automation, a podcast by Calvary Robotics, where you'll find industry leaders and experts sharing their thoughts on the world of automation. Hello, and welcome to Advanced Automation Calvary Robotics podcast. My name is Joe Gemma, global vice president, and I will be your host today. And I can tell you I'm thrilled to have our special guest today on our Calvary Robotics podcast. Our guest is certainly among the foremost authorities on automation industry in North America and globally, and I'm honored to call him my friend. Jeff Bernstein is the president of the Association of Advancing Automation or A3, which is the parent group of Robotics Industry Association, the RIA, the AIA, the Advancing Vision and Imaging, and the Motion Control Motors Association, the MCMA. Together, these trade groups represent almost thirteen hundred global companies involved in robotics, vision, motion control, and motors and related automation technologies. Jeff joined the RIA in nineteen eighty three and has held a variety of senior positions culminating in his much deserved promotion to president in two thousand and seven. He is frequently sought after commentator in the media as well as to global audiences on issues such as the impact of automation on jobs and the future of automation beyond the factory floor. Mister Bernstein also serves on the executive board of the International Federation of Robotics, the IFR. So welcome, Jeff, and thank you again for joining our podcast today. Thanks for having me, Joe. Well, I got some questions for you. You know, last week was a really important week in the industry, and you hosted a very ambitious effort we call the robotics week. What was your overall impression of the RIA robotics week event? Well, you know, I could be biased, Joe, but I thought it was fantastic. I have not been to a conference in the real world that had better content that this one had in the virtual world. I mean, we had so many different talks from so many industry leaders throughout the world. I I just thought it was great. And I and I did participate, so thank you for that. But I you know, it's interesting you say that because it was so much good content in it. And it's probably hard, but I'm curious. Would you be able to identify what you might call some of the highlights of that event for those who may not have had the chance to tune tune in? Absolutely. I mean, when we constructed it, we wanted to make sure that it would appeal to both people who are just getting started with robotics and automation, as well as those who are further along on their automation journey. And so some of those sessions we did early on, like how to get started, ROI and case studies from integrators like yourself, and some of the real current applications of robotics. These, I think, are extremely helpful to new companies getting involved. But we also did all this great stuff on the future. And new industries like agriculture, retail, and food processing, which really haven't been major users of robotics before. We did a look at startup companies, which I think is fascinating because there's so many of them coming. And then we looked at, you know, technologies like AI that have the potential to majorly transform robotics. So I think all in all, it was great. Plus, we broke news this week because we had, Henrik Christensen give the first preview of the new US robotics roadmap. So that's a lot of highlights, but that's the way it was. I mean, just about every day, there was something amazing going on at robotics week. Unfortunately, it's still available for people to listen to through the end of the month. Oh, good. That was the question I was going because it sounds like you had content for, as you say, the beginners right through the full spectrum of people that are involved in the industry to have a lot of experience, but could learn more about new technologies that are coming into the, into this spectrum and then also cost startups and what that might mean for the future. So sounds like you have the full spectrum of what people might be looking for in an event like this. And you made a good point so they people can still see the presentations they need to. Is there a time element to that? Or, tell me how does that work? So you can register at on robotics online, which is robotics dot org. And then you can find robotics week or you can just look up robotics week. And you register, and you can see the presentations through September thirtieth. Now one of the things that I really think resonates with users and potential users is to hear their colleagues, their other users in other industries speaking. And we were fortunate to have people from FedEx and three m and GM and, you know, user companies who are really being honest, Procter and Gamble, about how they implement these technologies, what they've learned, and, lessons that other companies can benefit from. Yeah. Actually, you make a good point. One of the one of the, presenters who was actually on that that both sides of that situation, Amazon. They were not only a user, but they're also a a supplier of sorts to the market space. So they really can see it from both perspectives of what is relevant to them. So just to confirm, so they still got a couple of weeks till the end of the month that they can do this if they want to, if they didn't have the opportunity to tune in. And it's, robotics dot org or they can, as you say, Google the, RA robotics week and find the link to get there. Yes. So this was, I I'd say a very ambitious event you put together in a in a pretty short time. What was some of the biggest challenges of putting this event together, would you say? Well, when we first envisioned doing this, I thought, well, how much different is it than an event that's live? Well, let me just tell you. It's way different. Because in a live event, you don't do necessarily practice sessions with every speaker. So we have seventy five speakers. That means you gotta do a full practice session with all of them to make sure their technology works, to make sure that they've got enough Internet bandwidth, that that they know how to use the technology. Just the whole lead up to it was really difficult. And then once you get to the event, you're at the mercy of all kinds of things. Let me just give you one example. There was bad weather in Michigan on the day the opening day of robotics week. Our on-site host, Robert Hushka, was looking up at our nine AM meeting what the weather was gonna be that day and realized, well, there might be a storm that affects where he lives. Well, as we're talking about it, his power goes out. Now he's the lead guy. Now we had backups, but, really, he had done all the prep work for the interviews and the lead ins. So he drove from his house to Ann Arbor, just made it in time. Fortunately, we had a a a studio set up for him there as well. But those are the things that you can't control for. It's really, you're at the mercy of a lot of things. Fortunately, when things go wrong with the technology, people understand. You know, we're living in a world now where we're used to that. Things go wrong. You just you have to roll with it. And and we were lucky. Not much went wrong during the week. Yeah. There's the old saying, if something can go wrong, it will. But it's it's a good point. And you're right. I I don't I don't think I would have even thought about this from a technology perspective. When you're hosting it at a facility, it's quite simply you're providing the technology. People and I've been fortunate enough to be participate with some with you in the past where you walk up to the microphone, it's already there. The the technology, equipment, the people, the resources, all of that's available. In this case, you have to really kinda ensure that everyone else is participating, those seventy five speakers, and that's quite a number, have the ability to, you know, provide the right technology to make that work. And then even the bad weather thing yeah. You might if this was a a live show, maybe it rains so people have to put, you know, umbrellas, but they still come to the event. Right. But if the power goes out and you can't host the event, it could it could be a challenge that you almost couldn't do anything about. But, fortunately, we're able to, you know, work around that. Great. Yep. Yep. So, again, I participated, so I was able to listen in to some of it and also be part of it, which I, again, thank the RIA and a three for inviting us. But what kind of feedback have you gotten so far, after the fact about the event? It's been excellent. We've gotten a lot of nice notes from people. There's been a lot of talk on social media about the event and how good it was. And I think overall, people recognize that during this period when we can't gather together in person, we needed something like this. We needed to present the robotics industry to show all that it's capable of doing to a wide audience. And, really, this is the first thing this year that's been able to do that. You know, you make another really good point, and I'm not surprised that we needed this. And and I think you're not only as the already existing industry needed us to understand what's going on in technologies and have visibility to it, but also people moving into the industry. There is no other vehicle potentially for them to go to. So this really filled a a big gap, a need in the market to, again, you know, pat on the back for doing that. And I and as you say, social media, I saw even, the FedEx did a good job of kind of thanking the association for the event, and it got a lot of positive feedback from itself. So, again, I've heard the same thing you have. It's been very positive on the feedback. So curious because this was did you say some things that you didn't think about or did that you had to think about? Is there anything you would do differently in the future to prepare for something like this? Yeah. When you think about the scope of it, you think, well, you know, we've got all these sessions going on, and some of them are running concurrently, and there's a trade show going on. So one of the biggest problems with these online events is the trade show part of it. You have to have a really good platform. It's nothing like the real world. Companies are in there thinking they're gonna get exposure to attendees, and they are. But in this particular platform we used, it was complicated how you actually communicated with the people who visited your booth and could follow-up later. We didn't realize that until after it was all over that it wasn't as easy to use as we had hoped. So the trade show part of it still needs work. We can't easily replicate a real world experience. We're gonna keep trying and keep trying to find better platforms. But everybody who's doing these virtual trade shows, I think, is encountering the same thing. How do we make it like what happens when you're at a real trade show? And nobody solved it yet. No. And I and I think we experienced that. Also, it was different. And as you say, it's it's new for everyone. Not only the people, you know, putting it on, but obviously the people participating. How to enter into a booth and and how to interact with someone in the booth. It's all new to all of us. And as you say, it will get better and you'll find certainly different platforms, but it is a complicated platform. So it sounds to me that if you're gonna give some advice going forward, you'd you'd point that out as something. Is there anything else that you would, you know, give other organizations advice on in trying to put something like this together? Yeah. Have a great staff of people who are willing to, you know, really put themselves out there and work, you know, twenty hours a day to make sure that this thing happens. This is a huge undertaking, at least at the scope that we're doing it. That's the number one thing. You gotta have a team of people that can really deliver it, and our team really did. They they did. And they they really rallied together to to come put something together in a pretty short period of time. So, again, our congratulations. And so that that's, you know, looking at the future of that, what what are your thoughts about this type of virtual event going forward, once trade shows could become a reality again in the future? Is is there a conflict of interest, do you think? Or is is there will there be some kind of middle ground between the two situations. What what's your thoughts? Well, the first thought I have is that people want to get back to trade shows. If there was some thinking that this was gonna replace that, I don't think so. I I I think there's a a real need to be in touch with people, to see the technology, to talk to the people in the company, to compare side by side with other companies. I think there's still a huge demand for that. Now when will we be back to live events? So who knows? But will there be a role for virtual events, or will there be a hybrid component to live events in the future? Probably. One of the things that we learned from this event, when you go to a trade show, and I don't care what trade show it is, usually, you expect that seventy percent of the audience is gonna be from within three hundred miles. So no matter how national or international the show is, it's still primarily a regional event. At this robotics week conference, there were people from so many countries. I I would say that this is the most international thing that we've ever done. And so it's a a different thing. And so if you look at how does that translate into a live show like Automate in the future, I think there will have to be some sort of component, a virtual component to make sure that all this great information is accessible, at least on the conference side. So you think we can and and I I would tend to agree. You think we can kind of strike a balance between the traditional trade shows that we've done, you know, historically and and this new, way of getting, you know, interest in in market through this virtual trade show type of events. I think so. Yeah. I mean, that's that's what I would expect. And and I, you know, you made a comment about people still want to be able to go to and and I think that that, you know, if we can even look at from any personal experience, for instance, if you're looking to buy a car, first of all, social animals anyway. So we like to have the opportunity to interact with people. But for a long time, you could go on to the Internet and pretty much pick what you want for your car and you could order a car if you wanted to. Yet, it is not the, go to way people still buy their cars. They still wanna go over and the proverbial kick the tires and and actually take it around. So I I think I I would agree with you. There's still always gonna be that component of I wanna get up close and and comfortable with the technology and doing it just all virtual. It may not satisfy that complete need. No. I I totally agree with that. Plus a lot of this, you know, is relationships. I mean, when you're gonna invest a lot of money in automation, you wanna get to know the people you're gonna be investing with. Right? Can't really do that so easily in the virtual world. Another valid point. Yeah. So so how do you think this is you know, how is a three at least pivoted to deal with the current state of reality? Because it's not gonna go away tomorrow. Obviously, this unprecedented situation we find ourselves in is is this again is gonna be ongoing for some time yet. So how is a three, let's say, pivoted to deal with this current reality as you might call it? Well, you know, we had three or four live events scheduled for this year that we canceled and replaced them all with virtual conferences. So we actually, as of right now, are planning to do six more virtual conferences between now and the end of the year. Now they're not all four day events. One of them is three days and the others are two days, but they're all major, undertakings. But this is what's required if we're going to get enough awareness of what's changing in not just robotics, but AI, machine vision, motion control. All these technologies that we represent need to be exposed to potential users. And, again, as long as there's no place to go to get the information, people are counting on a three to provide it to them. And so we're taking on this role of putting together these really great events that will educate people who wanna use these technologies. Again, I I I would support that. I think it's probably the most dynamic time in our industry as far as technologies and emergence of technologies and and the merging of technology. So there isn't an easy way for people to get access to this information, and this is a great way to support that. So in since we have you on the call, tell me a little bit about what what are the events that are coming up for the people that are listening in so they can you'd be sure to tune in. What is the association planning, you mentioned several shows over the next several months? Yeah. Can you give a little plug on those if you if you have any other ways? Absolutely. And they're all available on robotics dot org. You can learn more about them. But in early October, we have our International Robot Safety Conference. Now for RIA, safety is the most important priority. We've been holding this conference for over thirty years. So this is the first time we've had to do it virtually, but so that'll be in early October. We'll announce at that event the first look at the new mobile robot safety standard that should be out by the end of the year. After that, we have an autonomous mobile robot conference. Again, now these mobile robots are warehouses and factories and retail and other environments. A lot of demand for information on that. So we'll be doing a two day conference on that, followed immediately by AI and smart automation. So one of the hottest topics at robotics week was the panel that we did on artificial intelligence. This AI and smart automation conference will build upon that as well as bring in some other elements of industry four point o and three d printing and other technologies. So that's through October. In November, we'll have our, what we call TECHCON. It's a Motion Control and Motors Association event, and where we'll, put together the latest technology activities there, followed immediately by the International Vision Solutions Conference. Earlier this year, we did something called AIA Vision Week that was in the spring. But right now, all the major live events that deal with machine vision have been canceled. So people wanna know how does vision help us succeed. This vision solutions conference is gonna be a great addition to our lineup. And that takes place November eleventh and twelfth. Very nice. You know, the, vision tools today, it it's just fascinating what can be done with them. And it and it's also one of those areas that just continues to add more technology to. And as you say, this is a great way for people to see what's moving in that technology and get the latest of of what that is. So, thank you for again to the association between these events, and I I know the audience will appreciate the opportunity to attend those. So now many of us are working in, a different environment today. And so I'm wondering, how is it working remotely? How's that affected your work environment and your team? Well, I I'll tell you, Joe. I I'm an old timer. So, you know, I always had trouble with this idea of people working from home. In our association, you know, I rarely worked from home before the pandemic, and we had people who were working home one or two days a week, some people three days a week. And I always wondered if we were as effective. But now that we've been in this environment for six months or whatever, I'm not even sure how long it is. I really realized, I think people are more productive. We're getting so much done, and, you don't have to drive in. And the the hardest part is the isolation. So I'm talking to you from what I call the music room in my house because there's a piano in it. And, I've been in this room now for, you know, since March thirteenth. I haven't seen my staff at all other than over the, you know, the Internet. So that's the hardest part for me, and I think it's the hardest part for the team. We're adjusting well from a work standpoint. Attitudes are good. But, again, it's not the same as being with them. And the the interactions that you have with the team and new ideas that can pop up just from a discussion at lunch or something like that, I miss that. Yeah. As I said earlier, I mean, we're social beings for sure. And and as you say, the the impromptu, you know, conversations can really stimulate different conversations. It could bring up some great ideas, and it's really challenging to do that. You're right. And and Zoom's a nice for sure. You get to see them and, you know, have some interaction, but it's not the same. And as you know, we've known each other a long time. And for me personally, I'm a hugger, so this really made me feel it's hard to hug through a microphone. That's right. So, but I can understand. And and it is you're right. There's some benefits to it. We do see some of our people more effective, more efficient than the drive times are going. So they're, you know, instead of, you know, spending a half an hour or forty five minutes to get into work there, you know, I work, much earlier and and to be able to achieve more. So there's some pluses for sure, but there's there's certainly some minuses. So, you know, this is obviously part of our near future. But regarding, you know, even the midterm and long term future regarding the future of automation, Yeah. We've heard a lot of discussions about accelerating automation in North America, maybe even in the world. Is there evidence that this is happening or will happen? If so, can you describe why you think that might be happening? Well, I think most of the recent studies are showing that management is saying that they plan to accelerate their adoption of automation. I think the why is pretty clear. The pandemic has revealed to us that there are some issues here that we're not prepared for. The fact that you can't bring people into work, that's a real problem for keeping the businesses up and running. So if automation can help in that regard, can automation reduce the number of touches on products so that we don't spread the virus? Can collaborative robots, help separate people that are able to come to work? So there's a lot of eyes being opened here about how to keep your company up and running during a situation like this. How do we know this is the last time that we're gonna face a virus? Or how do we know that we're gonna be able to get beyond this one quickly? So I think that's one of the reasons that's driving the need for automation. Of course, the reasons that existed prior to the pandemic are still there. There are demographic changes that mean that a lot of people are going out of the workforce. They're not being replaced. There's a short there was a shortage of workers to do certain jobs. That was one of the things that was one of the main drivers of companies deciding they had to automate. They couldn't find people. So all those things still exist. So I I really strongly believe that the use of automation is gonna expand globally going forward. And of course, you have the whole growth in e commerce, which has exploded, demand for things like mobile robots and, industry four point o technologies. Yeah. You make a good point about mobile robots, and it it is a, a disruptive technology. It can really bring automation to places we couldn't go in the past. So and even other areas. I mean, you talk about some new situations that come up from this as you as you pointed out where we don't want people touching as much product or limiting the touch of products. That's not even on the just only on the front end. Even the the back end of the, like, the recycling part. Yeah. And and, you know, indications that if it's possible not to have people because we don't know what those recycle things are, and we don't know what the next virus might look like and how that might impact somebody having contact with it. So even there, you know, it's evolving for new areas of, putting automation in. So I'm wondering also along along those lines, how do you think this impacts the industry going forward? For instance, I it's a sort of piece about, you know, safety and what that might mean in terms of educating because more and more companies might be looking at automation, but yet they don't necessarily have the understanding of what the impact of safety might be in their environment. So what do you think the impact might be the industry because of this acceleration that will likely happen in again, across the world, but certainly in North America? Well, so if I think back to when I got started in this field back in the early eighties, there was a expectation that automation was gonna explode at that time. And because users weren't prepared, I think we ran into a lot of issues where people bought robots, didn't know how to successfully apply them, maybe didn't know about safety and other issues that prevented them from being successful, and that actually hurt the industry. We have to avoid that this time. So that's one of the reasons that we're continually pushing safety and standards and make sure you know what you're doing. Also, trying to let companies understand you don't just buy this stuff out of a box and it's ready to go. Although, you know, it's gotten much easier. Ease of use has certainly improved. You still need help from integrators and other companies. So I think that's part of our role as an association. It's part of the role of all of our member companies to make it clear to people who are looking at automating what the expectations are and how to do it successfully and safely. Yeah. And and I was in thinking about that, your answer in the discussion, it occurred to me we may even find ourselves at a little bit of a shortage of capacity to be able to support it. If there's this big acceleration in a short period of time, do we even have enough capacity from, say, the in integrator environment or or that that platform? Are there enough integrators that can even satisfy that? So that may have an impact and bring new companies into the space to be able to support that potentially shortfall of capacity or capabilities to to help all these other areas. Agriculture is now looking at the automation technologies. Is there enough capacity we'll support that in in in the field, in literally the field, to help to help that in implementation and execution? So that might even be another, impact to the to our industry going forward. What would you say perhaps could be some of the biggest challenges going forward then for the future of this industry? Well, hopefully, keeping up with demand is one of the challenges. I mean and that's a real problem. Right? That that could be a real problem. But the other challenges, again, are being very clear in communicating to users and potential users what their expectations are, how to get started. And I think that was one of the really strong points of robotics week is telling companies start with something that's a real need for you. Don't try and automate the whole factory at once. You know, go into this intelligently because a lot of companies don't have the internal resources to take care of issues if they crop up, and that's why the integrators are so important. Another issue, of course, is make sure you're working with an experienced integrator. You know, we obviously have many integrators who are members of the association, and a good portion of those like Cavalry are certified integrators. So that's really important as well. Yeah. Thank thank you for that plug on the certified integrator, but it's certainly a very valid point that, you know, we go through a rigorous testing procedure to make sure you're getting the quality and and the process you expect when you're you're working with an integrator like Calvary and others. And you as far as how to get started, it's really a valid point. You talked about picking the, the right application to get started. It too frequently and like you, I'm I'm I'm one of the old dogs too. I've been around a long time and too often people will pick the most difficult thing to try to automate, because they think, well, if we could do this, we could do everything. And that's not a great way to to learn. You certainly could, you know, the first thing you do, try to learn to drive an eighteen wheeler, but it's probably better to learn how to drive a car first, before you go into the eighteen wheeler. So we we would actually agree with you, encourage people to pick an application. Makes sense. You you want your return on your investments for sure, but don't pick the most difficult challenge in in going forward and and to get started to understand that technology. And then as you pointed out, really look at what that means in terms of, you know, getting the right training, getting the right understanding of safety, getting the right understanding of the standards to to make sure you you're very successful with that app your application. Yeah. So if this is a reality of more industries that we talked about, you know, I mentioned the recycling industry is is it's one utilizing automation or new industries for that matter that, you know, we agriculture growing into is a new industry. What does you think that means for the membership of the associations? Well, we certainly hope it means the membership's gonna grow. We know that there's a demand from so many industries for information. I mean, on a daily basis, I have people reaching out to me saying, can you come speak to our group about automation? Can you tell us how it's being used in, you know, very niche areas sometimes, the industries that are are relatively tiny. Some are really big, obviously. Food industry, retail, looking for information on how to use robotics and automation. So based on that, I think not only should our industry grow, but the association should grow as well since, you know, unlike many other trade groups, we also have user members. So a lot of these user companies see us as a resource and are, joining the association to get all the best information. Yeah. I I think it's a valid point, Jeff. The the association is kind of a a clearing house for that kind of opportunity of sharing a variety of experiences and challenges and giving that that sounding board of, you know, as this been addressed before. If it's not, how could we? But sort of leveraging experiences from other areas. And and the associations give that opportunity of getting together and and understanding, you know, what the past has looked like, what the present looks like, what the future could look like. And as you mentioned, food and retail, those are new industries. Some of the challenges might be something that's been faced elsewhere and maybe some that haven't been faced, but bringing the right people together through the association and meeting and discussing will help bring solutions to those challenges. Yeah. Absolutely. So, Jeff, I I appreciate your time. I I know it's very valuable and, again, this I hope this discussion was valuable for our audience. It certainly was for me. Do you have any last comments you'd like to make, before we sign off? Well, I just wanna, again, thank you for the opportunity to appear on the podcast and, for all your support of robotics week and all your support of the association, Joe. You know, means a lot to us to have you involved, and I appreciate your friendship as well. Thank you. It's a cherished friendship for me too. You know that. And I really appreciate the the time, effort, and and the and the value intelligence you bring to the to the market and to the people listening. I I know they'll value this too. So, again, thanks for you, and look forward to seeing you again soon face to face. Thanks. You too. Take care, my friend. Take care. So for those of you listening in today, thank you for taking the time to listen in. Great speaker. Good information we got to share today with Jeff Bernstein from the Association Advancing Automation. Again, thank you, Jeff, for being part of that. We look forward to spending more time together as we go forward in this industry. And speaking of forward, we're looking forward we got some really great speakers lined up coming in the near future, so we hope you'll tune in to our podcast for the Calvary Robotics. And if you want more information about Calvary, certainly go to our website at calvary robotics dot com. Also, you can reach out to me directly, and my email is j jemma at calvary robotics dot com. Thank you again for listening in, and hope you all have a wonderful day.